


Paper Hearts

by Zadkiel_2020



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drug Use, F/M, Falling In Love, Hurt/Comfort, Lori Grimes Being an Asshole, M/M, Minor Lori Grimes/Rick Grimes, Negan Being Negan (Walking Dead), Shane Being an Asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-01-05 02:58:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18357200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zadkiel_2020/pseuds/Zadkiel_2020
Summary: Negan is new to the school, automatic head of the football team too. Daryl could care less about the football team until Negan starts giving him some unwanted attention outside of class. While Daryl and Rick sort out their issues together, Negan tries his best to win Daryl over, even though it may take more effort than he had expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t written any fanfiction is years, so forgive me if this story starts off a bit slow. Constructive criticism is always encouraged, I want to improve on my writing as best I can.

The bell rang as Daryl rolled out from under the old RAM truck he had been working on. He was conducting a standard check for the front suspension and the brake linings, which as expected needed to be replaced. On most days he would stay late in the garage, try to avoid going home for as long as possible, but today Mr. Horvath needed to leave early and the students aren’t allowed to stay in the garage without proper supervision. 

So, begrudgingly, Daryl made his way to the supply closet, putting away the tools he had previously been using on the truck, and making sure everything was locked up and put away where it was supposed to be. Of course he didn’t bother washing his hands or removing his overalls, he was going straight home and didn’t really plan on seeing anyone he would have to impress. Then again he never really felt the need to ‘dress to impress’ anyways. 

“Heading home?” Mr. Horvath asked as Daryl stepped out of the closet and headed towards his backpack on the hook by the exit. 

“Yeah. Locked up the tools.” Daryl stated, nodding his head towards the now closed door of the closet and pulling his bag off the hook.

“Thanks kid.” Mr. Horvath gave Daryl a pat on the shoulder. “Stay safe this weekend.”

Daryl grunted in acknowledgement, giving Mr. Horvath a quick nod before heading out the door. He walked quickly down the hall, not wanting to stop and end up being forced into a conversation with somebody he’d rather not speak to. It was Friday, of course Daryl has forgotten that today they happened to be the only day of the week he hated more than Saturdays. Daryl mentally kicked himself for not having remembered to make plans so he wouldn’t have to spend the whole weekend cooped up in his house with his dad and Merle. 

Really Merle wasn’t all that bad on his own, but as soon as their dad or any of Merle’s friends were added to the equation, things would get a whole lot harder to handle. Merle would always fight with their dad, starting shit just to get a reaction out of him. Sure Merle’s antics kept dad off Daryls back, but he still felt like watching his brother get the lashings across his back always hurt more than getting them on his own. 

Merle’s friends were a whole other story, a mix of loud redneck assholes and drug-addled teens. They’d always come around when the house was empty, so usually nights when his dad was too drunk to make it home. Merle would always get his friends all worked up, causing fights that usually ended with Daryl having to break them up. 

So in the end it was pretty reasonable that daryl would rather spend his weekends out of the house. Between the drunken brawls and eerie silence, Daryl would prefer to be literally anywhere but with his family in that stupidly tiny house. 

Soon enough Daryl made it to the big main doors that lead out to the circular parking lot outside the front of the school. Parked right in the first stall was Merle on his beat up piece of junk motorcycle. 

“Hey little bro!” Merle called out with a wave, he was grinning ear to ear which probably meant he was high on something that Daryl was completely content not knowingly about. 

Daryl responded with a curt nod, picking up the second helmet off the back of the bike. 

“Couldn’t have fucking cleaned up a bit? I just got her polished and now you’re spreading all your dirt and grime all over the place.” The smile quickly left Merle’s face and was replaced with a deep scowl. 

“It’s a piece of shit anyways, an oil smudge or two ain’t really gonna hurt much. Maybe it’ll even help, smudge some over that Nazi bullshit you’ve bad got on the side.” Daryl laughed, stepping over and on to the bike, but Merle just scowled more. 

“Whatever, put your fuckin’ helmet on.” Merle huffed, kicking the bike stand up and revving the bike into motion. Daryl of course did as told, slipping his helmet on over his head and placing both hands on Merle’s shoulders. As expected, Merle wasn’t a wearing a helmet.

The ride back to their house wasn’t long, especially at the speed Merle goes down the highways, Daryl’s surprised they don’t go flying with how fast Merle hits some of those holes in the road. 

They pulled up beside the house, Merle kicking the bike stand down and Daryl hoping off, putting his helmet right back on the back of the bike. Their dads car wasn’t in the driveway, which means he was probably out at the bar with his buddies and Daryl could relax for a while before he returned. 

Merle followed Daryl into the house, automatically throwing himself down onto the old tattered couch and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. Daryl headed to his room, planning to lock himself in there until his dad came back and he had to find somewhere else to hide. 

“Hey, wait-“ Merle grabbed Daryl by the wrist, it wasn’t an angry grab, just one to keep Daryl where he was. “Sit for a bit man, we never get a chance for brotherly bonding.” Merle threw Daryl and stupid grin, to which Daryl just rolled his eyes. 

“Ain’t gonna sit for long.” Daryl moved to sit himself beside Merle, leaning against the far arm rest and kicking his feet up as well. 

“How’s school been?” Merle questioned, reaching to their dads mini fridge that sat beside the recliner and pulling out two beers. “I never see you around in the halls.” Merle held out one of the beers to Daryl, which Daryl gladly accepted. 

“Ya dont see me cuz you ain’t ever there.” Daryl hit the cap of the bottle off against the table edge. “Always off gettin’ buzzed with y’er friends.” 

“I do my work, but that ain’t what we’re talking about. I’m asking you about how you’re doing, we ain’t degrading me because I do the shit you’re too scared to do.” Merle took on a serious tone, like a parent about to lecture their kid. 

“Schools fine man. I ain’t failing, and I ain’t gettin’ into any trouble.” Daryl shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. Merle sighed, his facial expression changing to one more of sadness than stern parent. 

“That ain’t what I meant and you know it. The other kids treatin’ you alright? You know how to fight, if they ain’t treatin’ you with the respect you deserve then you know you need to teach them a damn lesson!” Merle threw his hands up, beer spilling out the rim of his bottle with the motion. Daryl knew where this was coming from. In elementary kids used to always pick on him, did all the way until eighth grade when Merle found one of them beating Daryl and took it upon himself to put that kid in the hospital for a week. Since then Merle’s always been on Daryl’s back about making sure people ‘treat him with respect’ and ‘know who they are messing with’. Merle’s only gotten worse with it since Daryl started high school.

“I ain’t a kid no more Merle!” Daryl was getting angry, he didn’t need his big brother to come fucking baby him all the time. “I ain’t ever asked you to beat that kid up back then, I could have handled it myself!” 

“If you could handle it yourself then why had it been happening for three years.” Merle stayed surprisingly calm for all of Daryls yelling, thought the smallest bit of venom could be heard in Merle’s voice and that’s just pissed Daryl off even more. 

“Ya know what, fuck you, I’m out.” Daryl slammed his bottle down on the coffee table before getting up and stomping his way out the front door. He could hear Merle get up, telling him to get back there and sit down, but Daryl just sped up. He broke out into a sprint, running straight through the bushes and into the forest that surrounded their house. He needed a break already and the weekend had barely even started. 

He’d been on edge a lot lately, but he feels as though he might have over reacted a bit over his brother just asking if he was alright. It still pissed him off though, he wasn’t a fucking kid no more. He huffed, turning and smashing his fist into the tree. He had so much pent up fucking shit inside him right now he felt like he was gonna loose his mind any minute. He needed a distraction. 

Finally he looked around, taking in his surroundings. The forest in this area didn’t look look familiar, meaning Daryl ran much farther than he thought he had. The sun was getting lower and he probably only had about another hour or so before the sun would be completely gone. That meant he had one hour to figure out where the fuck he was. 

He knew the forest around his house like the back of his hand, but he’d run so fast for so long he must be at least a few kilometres from his house by now. The best bet was to track down a road and walk along that until he found somewhere he could call his brother and get a ride back. 

And so he walked, listen out for the sound of cars until he came upon a highway. It wasn’t a busy highway by any means, a car would drive by every few minutes but that was about it. He figure if he walked it for long enough, he’d be bound to find a farm house or something he could knock on the door of and ask to borrow a phone. 

The farther he walked down the highway the less of a chance he thought he’d have of finding a damn farm house. The sun had now completely set and he was shivering from the cold that’s come to set in now that the heat of the sun has left. He was giving up hope of ever getting the fuck back home, and he was just about ready to pass out in the grass beside the road from all this running and walking. 

Just as he was ready to call it quits and drop down in a bush to give up, a car slowed to a stop beside him, window rolling down to reveal a boy from his school, Daryl remembered to be called Rick. Rick looked at him with an eyebrow raised, motioning for Daryl to come over to the window, which Daryl willingly complied to.

“Why are you out here?” Rick questioned. “You look damn near ready to pass out, and you must not live anywhere near here because I know for a fact there ain’t no houses within a mile of here.” Daryl wasn’t sure how to respond, he couldn’t just say he ran here, that’ll just rise more questions from the boy in the car in front of him. Instead Daryl opted for just shrugging, hoping Rick was able to tell he didn’t want to say. Surprisingly enough, Rick didn’t continue.

“Do you want a ride? We’re on our way home, I’m sure we could drop you off on the way.” Rick smiled, not seeming to be bothered at all by Daryl’s lack of an answer to his earlier question. 

“Yeah.” Daryl responded quietly.

“Alright then, hop in the backseat and give me your address.” Rick grinned as Daryl slid in to the backseat as Rick had told him. The car was nice, not luxury but also not something Daryl’s family could ever afford. 

“I’m Ricks mother, you can call me Marry.” The lady in the drivers seat smiled at Daryl through the rear view mirror and Daryl gave her a weak smile back. 

“What’s your address? I gotta type it into my map.” Rick twisted around in his seat to look at Daryl, and Daryl quickly listed off his address. Soon enough they were driving back down the highway towards Daryl’s place, and Daryl was wondering if he was really just so desperate he got in a strangers car. He’s so hoping this doesn’t end up like the movies where he’ll get clubbed and thrown in a trunk by the end of the ride.


	2. Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl goes to Ricks on Friday, meeting one of Ricks friends and a friend of a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter update was pretty fast and honestly, it probably won’t be this fast for the next few chapters. I’m aiming for one chapter a week which should be easy enough to finish, so I’ll usually be updating on Fridays or Saturdays.

Daryl quickly learnt that Rick was not the type of person to club you and throw you in a trunk, in fact he was the complete opposite.

 

It had been a week since Rick had driven Daryl home and they had been hanging out almost every day since. The fact that Daryl didn’t talk much never seemed to bother Rick, he’d always be more than willing to fill in the silence with whatever was on his mind that day.

 

One of the first days that Rick had caught Daryl before class and pulled him over to join his group, Rick had asked Daryl what he planned one doing after high school. Of course, Daryl didn’t really have a plan for that. He thought about it, who hasn’t, but never really saw himself going to college or university. He wasn’t one of the smartest guys out there and he didn’t really excel at anything that you could learn in school like that. Rick was quick to move on the topic, telling Daryl about how him and his friend Shane were planning on going straight to the police academy once they graduate, this brought a small chuckle from Daryl as he imagined the teen in a gun fight with some heavy criminals.

 

It was Friday again now, and Daryl was planning on heading out to Ricks place once class ended, instead of sticking himself back under that damn truck for hours. There was less than five minutes left in class and he was currently sitting at the exit to the garage, anxiously tapping his foot and staring at the clock on the wall.

 

“You’ve been leaving early a lot lately.” Mr. Horvath stated, approaching Daryl while wiping the grease from his hands onto his already dirty overalls.

 

“Got places to be.” Daryl shrugged, eyes not leaving the clock.

 

“I’m glad you’ve finally found something nicer to occupy your time with, instead of spending hours underneath old dirty cars.” That was Mr. Horvaths own way of saying he was glad Daryl was finally making some friends. He always bothered Daryl about that, not that he didn’t want Daryl around or anything, he just wanted to push to kid a bit, get him to put himself out there more. He’d always bother Daryl with jokes about how a car engine was the closest thing he was ever gonna get to a girlfriend.

 

Daryl didn’t feel the need to respond, he just nodded. The bell rang seconds after, saving him from any further stiff conversation with the teacher.

 

Leaving the class, he made his way towards the main doors where he was told to meet Rick at the end of the day. As he approached, he spotted Rick standing beside a man Daryl had never seen before. He was wearing one of the schools football jerseys and was built like a star, you could see that even from where Daryl was. Adding to his features was a strong jaw, but a nose that was far too big for his face. If it wasn’t for that nose and the ever growing wave of asshole energy radiating off of him, Daryl might have even called him hot.

 

“Daryl!” Rick broke out a large smile, waving Daryl over. “Daryl this is Shane, Shane this is Daryl.” The man Daryl now knew to be Shane, one of Ricks close friends and a leading member of the football team he remembered, held out his hand for Daryl to shake. Daryl didn’t shake his hand, just gave the man a grunt in recognition. 

 

“Nice to meet you Daryl, Ricks said a lot about you. Shane didn’t seem too bothered by the fact Daryl ignored his hand shake, he just lowered his hand and stuck it back in his jacket pocket.

 

“Shane’s gonna come with us to my place and his new football boyfriend is gonna meet us there.” Shane scowled at Ricks joke, hitting him playfully in the shoulder and igniting a light laugh out of Rick as he picked up his bag, motioning for Daryl and Shane to follow him. Daryl wondered who this friend of Shane’s was, deciding he probably wasn’t going to like him much if he was anything like he expected Shane to be.

 

Rick led them to his car, well his moms car, and drove them over to his place. He had borrowed his moms car, not wanting to walk the usual route he would to get home, and his mom hadn’t needed her car for anything today anyways.

 

Adding to Daryl’s amazement that Ricks mom even let Rick touch her car (Daryl knows his dad wouldn’t and won’t let Daryl anywhere near his car) Ricks house was huge. It probably wasn’t as big as it seemed to Daryl, but it was significantly larger than any house Daryl had ever lived in. Where Daryl’s house was old and run down, Ricks house was two stories tall and looked brand new.

 

The front room was open with a kitchen attached, an island made of granite and dark wool contrasting with the white of the rest of the house to separate the kitchen from the living room. Near the back in the centre of the house was a large curving staircase with beige carpeting that covered most the the second floor as well.

 

Rick led them to the couch in the front room, there was a large flat screen and two other chairs spread out over the white area rug that covered the hard wood floor on the first story of the house. Daryl felt as though if he sat on anything he would end up ruining it or getting it dirty, even though he had cleaned up and removed his overalls before he even left the garage.

 

“Would you boys like anything?” Ricks mom cane around the corner, a smile Daryl could only describe as wholesome and motherly playing across her features.

 

“We’re fine mom.” Rick responded. “Just waiting on Negan.” Daryl raised and eyebrow at that. Negan must be Shane’s friend from the football team, but he had never heard that name before. He’d heard Shane’s name around before, over the announcements at school for upcoming games and through Rick’s many stories, but he’d never heard of Negan before today.

 

“Well I’ll order some pizza for diner, your father won’t be home until later anyways.” She waved then goodbye and headed off toward the stairs, leaving Daryl to try to fend for himself through what was sure to Ben a gruelling converts anti on with shane.

 

* * *

 

Sure enough, Daryl ended up hating this Shane guy just as much as he had expected he would, the dude was an asshole. Rick must see something in him that Daryl couldn’t, because every word out of this mans mouth just made Daryl want to fucking hit him. 

 

Thankfully though Daryl didn’t have to deal with him for long because within half an hour of them sitting down, a knock at the door indicated the arrival of the pizza. They all ate at the kitchen table with both of Ricks parents included, his dad had arrived as they were sitting out the plates. 

 

Turns out Ricks dad was an officer, and although it made Daryl a bit uneasy sitting at a table across from law enforcement, Rick was asking his dad question after question about what he had done that day. It seemed the reason Rick wanted to be an officer so bad was  because of how much he looked up to his dad, you could see it in the way he would look at him with a twinkle in his eyes and in the total awe that he would ask his questions.

 

it made Daryl wonder if most kids looked up to their dads like this, if his dad was supposed to be like this. He knew as I kid he was always jealous of the relationships other kids had with their parents, but as a kid it was less about wanting a role model and more about wanting someone to buy you hot wheels. Now that he’s older, Daryl wanted a role model like Ricks dad.

 

Besides Daryl’s inner conflict, the diner went pretty well. Shane let them know that Negan was running late and Ricks dad told them stories about the case he was working on down at the station. Once everyone finished, Daryl helped Rick out with cleaning up while, as expected, Shane sat on his ass and played on his phone. 

 

Now they had all three settled down on the couches, Rick and Shane sharing one and Daryl sitting by himself on the one closest to them. They had thrown on some stupid movie about some drug dealers and how they kidnapped this dudes little brother, it really reminded him of Merle. He really wasn’t paying attention though, lost in his own thoughts until he heard the sharp knock at the door. 

 

Rick was the one to get up and answer it, motioning the new guest in and calling out for Shane and Daryl to come meet him. As Daryl came around the corner he was greeted by a man who barely looked like he could be in high school. He was taller then Daryl, not by much but it was more noticeable when you looked at how old he looked in general. The man had rough facial hair, not perfectly groomed but cleaned up enough to look like he at least cared a bit, he wore a black leather jacket and a red scarf which Daryl found to be a bit stupid looking and definitely overkill. 

 

“Negan!” Shane clapped the man, Negan, on the back and motioned for him to follow them back into the living room. Daryl didn’t greet the man and the man didn’t seem to even care about greeting him, which he probably should have been more offended over than he actually was. 

 

When they reached the living room, Shane sat Negan down right were Daryl had been sitting, same cushion, same arm rest. Daryl scowled, the blatant disrespect not going well with his already building hatred towards the man. 

 

With a huff and no verbal complain though, Daryl sat himself down on the last open couch, Shane and Rick returning to their previous places on the farthest couch. From there the conversation drifted on to sports, then women, Shane making some pretty stupid comments through that one, until Negan directed his attention towards Daryl. 

 

“I ain’t seen you around a lot, you go to our school?” Negan questioned, giving Daryl and almost accusing glare. 

 

“I stick to the garage.” Daryl stated, glaring back with much more fire than he should have for this situation. Negan just laughed, face lifting from the scowl and shifting to a ear to ear grin. 

 

“Loner kid, I get it. Not ballsy enough to go make friends so you stick yourself in a jumpsuit all day to make yourself feel better.” Daryl couldn’t tell if the man thought he was actually funny or if he was just really good and picking at people. 

 

“It ain’t a jumpsuit.” Was Daryl’s response before he got up and headed for the door. He had handled Shane for just about as long as he could and now adding Negan into it, he’d rather just head home now. 

 

“Wait Daryl, he's just joking around you ain’t gotta leave!” Rick stood up, looking at Daryl like he was gonna run out and stop him but deciding against it when Daryl just scoffed. 

 

“Don’t wanna deal with these assholes longer than I gotta.” Daryl slipped his boots on, saying goodbye to Rick before slipping out the door and making his way down the street. He knew how to get home from here, it was a long walk but he’d made it in no time. 


	3. Wanna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merle gives Daryl a proposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah okay so sorry this chapter was like, extra late? I had expected to get this chapter out before the exchange students came last week and then I was planning on getting the next chapter out by tomorrow. Obviously that didn’t work out. Once I didn’t finish this chapter before the exchange students came I figured I finish it within the week they were here, and that didn’t work either, so I THEN figured I’ll figure it out later.
> 
> Well this is later, and I’ve figured it out. I’ll get the next chapter out in about two weeks. There was an issue in one of the other exchange students places so now we’ve taken in another pair of students for this week since my other two students left to go to my partners place for the week. I had expected to write a lot during this week but that won’t be happening now. 
> 
> SoRrY for the setbacks, I know this is a horrible was to start a story but I hope you enjoy this chapter.

“Nah.” Daryl stated, grabbing his jacket off the counter and heading towards the door. Daryl had gotten home pretty late last night and ended up sleeping until almost noon, he would have slept longer if it wasn’t for his brothers insistant knocking at his bedroom door at half past eleven. Merle, of course, needed a favour, a stupid favour that Daryl was in no way wanting to participate in.

 

Supposedly from what Merle had said, one of his buddies got locked up and they were down a runner, meaning they couldn’t sell everything that they needed to sell and Merle was going to get his ass handed to him by his boss if he didn’t find another runner. So who else would Merle ask other than his dear old little brother to help him sell his shit on the street so he can keep sitting pretty.

 

Daryl of course said no. Not that he had anything to loose, but he really didn’t have anything to gain from it either. Prison was a hell of a risk just to keep your dead beat brothers ass off the chopping block, and it was a risk Daryl was not intent on taking.

 

“I’ll pay you. You’ll get the same cut that the guy you’re replacing did! Don’t be a pussy and back out just cause you’re to scared to put you’re ass on the line.” Merle stepped in front of the door, blocking Daryl from leaving.

 

“I can’t back out of something I ain’t ever been a part of. I got no interest joining up with you and you’re drug buddies just so you can keep your ass safe. Now get outta my way!” Daryl barked, shoving Merle. Merle stayed put, shoving Daryl back and causing Daryl to stumble a few paces. His brother was bigger and stronger, Daryl couldn’t beat him in a fight, though he hoped this would not escalate to that level anyways.

 

“You obviously don’t know how to fucking treat family. I’m your brother, you should be jumping at a chance to help me out! Plus it ain’t just my ass on the line either, if I don’t get my boss his money then he ain’t just gonna come for me, he’ll be coming for you too.” Merle was in Daryl’s face now, spit flying with every word that left his mouth. Daryl hadn’t thought about that, the fact that he probably would be a target before they even went for Merle. They wouldn’t want to kill Merle but they’d be more than willing to hold onto Daryl until they got their money.

 

“Fine. I’ll run. But I ain’t doing this forever, and I’m fucking getting paid.” Merle brightened at Daryl’s agreement.

 

“I knew you’d come around little bro!” He pat Daryl’s shoulder roughly before moving out of the way. “Come back tonight and I’ll have your stuff for the week.” Merle let Daryl walk out the door, giving a short wave before slamming it behind the departing man.

 

* * *

 

 

“Come back to tonight.” Daryl mumbled under his breath, kicking a rock that was laying on the side of the road. He hadn’t really had a destination when he left his house, he’d just wanted to escape his brother for a few hours.

 

Soon enough, a thought crept into his mind, one that he didn’t really want to act on but one that probably would be a good idea. He could go to Ricks place. Shane and Negan would most likely be gone by now, which means Daryl could just spend time with Rick. Only Rick. 

 

He was already heading in the right direction and with how long he’d been walking he was probably already over half way there, so reluctantly he made up his mind, deciding Rick’s place was better than no place and at least he could apologize for storming out the way he had the previous night. 

Daryl was walking up to Ricks doorstep an hour later, hesitantly knocking on the door. He was now realizing how dumb of an idea this was. Was Rick even home? Would Rick be angry at him for showing up out of nowhere? Daryl didn’t have a phone, he had no way of telling Rick he was coming over anyways. 

Much to Daryl’s relief the door opened to Rick. 

“Daryl? Is somethin’ wrong?” Rick questioned, opening the door all the way and motioning for Daryl to come in. 

“Nah, ain’t nothing wrong.” Daryl paused. “I wanted t’a apologize for yesterday.” 

“No need man, none of us like Negan. I don’t blame you for storming out, if I had the opportunity I would have too.” Rick frowned as he spoke, Daryl assumed it was due to the mention of Negan. Obviously Rick wasn’t too fond of the man either, which made Daryl feel a lot better about his little tantrum the day before. 

“The hell are you friends with those guys for anyways?” He grumbled, kicking off his shoes and following Rick to the kitchen. 

“Shane’s not as bad as he seems. Sure, he’s an asshole a lot, but he’s just trying to show off. He was a lot more fun when we were kids.” Shane seemed like the kind of guy that was made to be stupid, so Daryl had a hard time picturing him as a child who’s any less of a stupid asshole. 

“Yeah, and what about Negan? I know you ain’t ever met him before yesterday, but Shane don’t seem to be making the best choices for his friendships.” Daryl sat himself down at the island in the kitchen as Rick started rummaging through the fridge. 

“Negan ain’t gonna last long with Shane. They keep trying to be better than each other. Sure, they’re gonna be real good friends for a while but soon enough there’s gonna have one hell of a ‘breakup’ fight.” Rick pulled what looked to be sandwich meat and lettuce out of the fridge. 

“Well atleast we ain’t gotta live with them teamin’ up much longer.” Daryl grinned. 

“True that brother.”


	4. Money Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took me so long! Summer was a wild ride, but I’m back down and definitely planning on continuing this as well as my newest fic! This chapter is super short because I was in a rush to get it finished and let everyone know I’m back, but next chapter will be longer I promise!

"You sure this is the right place?" Daryl followed Merle towards the large factory. Or atleast it looked like it used to be a factory. Most of the windows were smashed and there was a solid layer of orange rust covering the outside of the building, making the whole thing look like some creepy post-apocalyptic base. Cement tubes shot out from the top of the tallest sqaure of the factory, adding to very unsettling vibe of the whole thing. 

 

“I’m not a damn idiot, I know where I’m going.” Merle snapped at Daryl, lip turning up in a snarl and he quickened his walking pace. Daryl sped up as well, he wasn’t a pussy but he sure as hell wasn't planning on getting left behind. 

 

The inside of the building had vibe that was far less intimidating than the outside. There were crates and desks scattered about the main ‘work’ floor, and people went about their jobs quickly and efficiently. Daryl could almost be fooled into thinking this was a real business factory, had it not been for the bags of white powder sitting on tables and stacks of pill bottle on corners of working desks. 

 

They were ushered down a hallway by a young man in coveralls, good looking but not memorable. They were then led by a different man, older this time, to a small room near the back of the building. 

 

“Wait here, please.” The older man told them as they entered. For drugs dealers and gang members, some of these people were very polite. The man closed the door behind Daryl and his brother. 

 

“This where you work everyday?” Daryl asked, a genuine question. 

 

“Not quite.” Was the only answer daryl got out of his brother before a large man with a severe lack of hair entered through a door to their right. 


End file.
